Sarah needs

Stolen shamelessly from Middle Aged Woman, I googled those words. Results were mixed, but these were what made me smile. I’ll leave you to your own commentary.

Sarah needs a cold shower.
Sarah needs her panties.
Sarah needs to hand him one of those weapons that went off without warning
Sarah Needs Your Vote to Win a Guest-Blogging Contest.
Sarah needs to set up her experiment by finding subjects and gathering the materials that she wrote down before.
Sarah needs findings in order to see what else Google comes up with.
Sarah needs advice.
Sarah needs her own set.
Sarah needs batteries.

The last one might be my favorite because it makes me sound like a robot. A weapon handling yoga robot.

And because it was relevant this week, I thought I’d post the list of Sarah Smile Songs that I sent to a friend. These are songs that ALWAYS make me grin and take me out of a bad mood.

I Just Want to Celebrate – Rare Earth
Istanbul (not Constantinople) – They Might Be Giants
If I Ever Leave This World Alive – Flogging Molly
Mama Told Me Not To Come – Three Dog Night
Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane
I Love Rock n’ Roll – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Meet Virginia – Train
Rockafella Skank – Fatboy Slim
Mysterious Ways – U2
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
Summertime – DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
Just a Friend – Biz Markie
Home – Marc Broussard
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
Spinning Wheel – Blood, Sweat and Tears
Cisco Kid – War
My Sharona – The Knack
Just a Little Bit – Gina G.
Hey Ya! – Outkast
Celebration – Kool and the Gang
Come On Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runner
Kiss Me Deadly – Lita Ford
We’re Not Gonna Take It – Twisted Sister
The Final Countdown – Europe
It’s Tricky – Run DMC
I’m Free – The Soupdragons
Are You Gonna Be My Girl – JET
Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz
I’ll Take You There – The Staple Singers
December, 1963 – Four Seasons
The Humpty Dance – Digital Underground
Jump Around – House of Pain
Bust a Move – Young MC
Unbelievable – EMF
The Power – Snap
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Spill the Wine – War
Toxic – Britney Spears
Hung Up – Madonna
Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
Just What I Needed – The Cars
Here Comes My Girl – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Groove is in the Heart – Deee-lite
Clumsy – Fergie
Pump It – Black Eyed Peas
Volcano – Jimmy Buffett
Abracadabra – Steve Miller Band

Tomorrow is my birthday

I have no plans beyond teaching my evening yoga class. I will probably continue to lay around and read fiction before the grind that is Microbiology begins next week.

In related news, I read New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear and there is nothing I did not like about it. It’s a collection of short stories which involve the same characters. The people are complex and interesting, I love the alternate history and practical magic.

Up next on the list, finishing The Mermaid Chair, A Thousand Splendid Suns (for the Bandwagon), and the Penelopeiad by Margaret Atwood. I’m very excited about the latter because it was a surprise find.

I’m also excited about my birthday. I’ve gotten to the point where it feels like I’ve ‘earned’ each year and I’m pretty happy to be doing so. I’m in good health – better than when I was in my 20s – as is my family. We’ve got some changes and challenges coming up, but I’m looking forward to them.

And since it’s come up in conversation twice in the last several days, I Just Want To Celebrate by Rare Earth is probably my all-time favorite song. There are so MANY favorites that it’s hard to choose but in terms of tone, tempo, lyrics, and overall good-feeling I think it’s The One. It runs through my head every single day and is great every single day. More music here than video, but you get the gist:
[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1491932&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

TV this week:

Generation Kill – Amazing. I can’t believe it’s almost over. I continue to laugh and be shocked and horrified simultaneously. Alexander Skaarsgard defines hawtness. I’m going to have to pick up the book the series is based on.

The Closer- Great Episode. Although really, are there ACTUALLY people who get engaged without having discussed whether or not they want children? Really?

Wipeout- Seriously? Rerun? WTF?

I’m going to eat awesomely Spouse-made lasagna for dinner and then have cake! I love cake!

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I’ve been AWOL

We had a family wedding this weekend. In a weird coincidence, we got a phone call from a telemarketer bribing us to sit through a timeshare presentation in the SAME TOWN as the wedding so we went over the night before to sit through it.

I suspect that no one else will be shocked by the timeshare presentation but the fact that it took place in this VERY SMALL TOWN is totally bizarre. The bribe was airfare and three nights of hotel in any city with an international airport in North America. And he didn’t really say it was a timeshare presentation, just that it was a 90 minute presentation. When we got there, we discovered that our sales pitch guy used to play basketball with Spouse’s brother. We broke the news right away that we weren’t going to buy anything.

If you’ve never sat through a timeshare presentation, basically they try to convince you to buy a week of vacation time in one place (because you can use it to travel the world!). If you’ve got a low tolerance for dodgy hotels and a job that guarantees you won’t be shitcanned, it’s a great idea. Also, the city where you get the presentation is ALWAYS the MOST POPULAR destination which makes YOUR timeshare the MOST VALUABLE and then you can trade it to go ANYWHERE.

My mom has a timeshare. She loves it. But then she changed jobs and now doesn’t have enough vacation time to use the vacation weeks that she’s locked into paying for. Right.

So the bribe is really only airfare and TWO nights of hotel, plus you have to travel on a Tuesday, and you can’t travel on almost any holiday or 7 days before and after New Year. Also, it’s not FREE because you still have to pay $100-130 to get the “activation package”.

What am I trying to say here? It’s not worth sitting through these presentations. Ever. Really. We’ve sat through three now and they are all the same. And the ‘catch’ for the reward is the same. Where the hell are we going to go for two nights on a TUESDAY?

The wedding was nice. There was a lot of family, a lot of beer, and a lot of dancing. I suspect there is NOT video of me, Spouse and his cousin doing the Soulja Boy dance.

We can all agree this is a good thing.

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I’m not normally a Weird Al fan

But I think this version of his video is hilarious. Not only is Donny Osmond in good cardiovascular health but he’s got a great sense of humor!

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Holy Monday, Batman!

So this weekend was kind of a drag in some ways (dad’s deathaversary) and good in some ways (Saturday’s class, Marsha’s wedding celebration) but it was a general downer in that my sleep hasn’t gotten better (bad dreams/nightmares for the last week).

This morning I decided to wake up, make a smoothie and do some studying for my exam tomorrow. But before I could do those things, there was a ring at the doorbell. A few weeks ago, through a complete fluke, I won a Wii and Wii Fit from dooce.com. Today they arrived! Clearly the gods do not want me to study for my exam. Fie on them! Instead of preparing for the Drunken Wii Fit Invitational, I WILL study anatomy and physiology. Really.

I also made my smoothie. Today’s blend: handful of almonds, handful of dried cranberries (blend those first), 8oz OJ, 1/8 of a block of tofu, frozen smoothie fruit mix (pineapple, strawberry, mango), one plaintain (because it was black), handful of blueberries, 10 baby carrots, large spoonful of plain yogurt, splash of skim milk. I totally forgot the flaxseed/bran but it’s pretty delicious anyhow and the almonds give it some texture.

AND, because it’s a super double spectacular Monday, I ALSO have a a new music mix! This is an 80s mix (66 minutes) that I’m going to use in class tonight. My plan is to have Madonna play *before* class so that it works right into the hourlong class time.

Things to do this week (in blogging) review the podcasts and Wii Fit Yoga!

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Hip Hop Yoga Mix on imeem

This is my most recent class mix. As titled, it’s 65 minutes of music including about 5 minutes for savasana.

Probably when I’m willing to wrestle with imeem again, I’ll upload my personal hip hop playlist. Which includes objectionable lyrics.

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“I’m not wearing hockey pants.”

Non-spoilery things you need to know about The Dark Knight:

1. You should definitely see it.
2. Do not drink any beverages before OR during the movie. It’s 2.5 hours long. Which is about 45 minutes longer than my bladder was prepared for.
3. I hope they’re not planning to recast The Joker for a future movie because Heath Ledger played it like WHOA.
4. It lives up to the hype.

The second most important thing (the previews):

1. Watchmen. Are you freaking KIDDING me right now? This movie looks BAD. ASS.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1406585&w=425&h=350&fv=]

more about “Watchmen Trailer – Trailer Addict“, posted with vodpod
2. New Terminator movie?! With Christian Bale?! Hells YEAH!

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1406592&w=425&h=350&fv=]

more about "Terminator Salvation Teaser Trailer -…", posted with vodpod
3. Body of Lies. I may have seen everything Ridley Scott has made. This will be no exception.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1406589&w=425&h=350&fv=]

more about "Body of Lies International Trailer – …", posted with vodpod
4. The Women. I’ve seen a couple of previews for this but the theater trailer was the first one that made me want to see it. The birthing clip was freaking HILARIOUS. Spouse was even cracking up and said he thought it might be good.  < /shock>

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1406591&w=425&h=350&fv=]

more about "The Women Trailer – Trailer Addict", posted with vodpod

My class this morning was pretty great. Occasionally when I’m teaching, you can see students ‘get’ something and that totally happened today. As a room, they were total rockstars. Probably this will require an entire post about hips and hamstrings. Not sure anyone is interested in it but me.

In related news, I’m trying to upload an updated Hip Hop Mix from my class as well as my 70s blend but imeem is being a total pain in the balls. As soon as I get it squared up, I’ll post (or embed) links.

In the meantime, I’m also fielding suggestions for my 80s Hair Band mix. So far I’ve decided that Europe’s Final Countdown will be the last song before savasana.

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Yoga prevents injuries. Well, it prevents MY injuries.

See, I teach yoga but I’m not especially graceful. I’ve got decent balance and great posture, but I’m still clumsy. So today I noticed that the top of my right foot was sore. I couldn’t figure out why (I’m used to miscellanous bumps and bruises showing up) but didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. Until I got to class tonight.

Completely typical for me, I was walking around during savasana on Tuesday – talking through the relaxation process – when I stumbled over my own yoga block. Backwards. I rolled my entire right foot/ankle over and then (thankful that I hadn’t actually crashed to the floor and that everyone still had their eyes closed) promptly forgot about it.

So there you go. Stretching your feet, calves, and ankles can prevent sprains. I’m walking (not limping or hobbling) proof.

I also thought about a bajillion things to post about which completely flew out of my head as soon as I got in front of my laptop. Later tonight I’ll update my imeem playlists so that You Too can rock out to yoga. My next challenge is 80s Hair Band yoga.

In TV news I am not excited about Project Runway this season. I can’t quite pinpoint why. I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time watching Cold Case reruns on my DVR when I should be sleeping and/or studying. It’s interesting but I’m not sold on it. Something to occupy time until the summer TV season is REALLY underway.

Music updates later and possibly I’ll link my ‘default’ albums.

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Schadenfreude

That’s a big part of what makes Wipe Out so entertaining. It’s just funny to see people falling in mud, or water, or tripping over inflatable sea animals. The other part (the part that keeps me from feeling terrible about watching it) is that the contestants look like they’re having FUN. And if I had 10 acres of land, I’d build a Wipe Out Zone of my very own, because those obstacle courses look like a blast. It’s something I could see doing with a group of my friends, so if someone told me I had a chance at $50,000 to play I’d probably do it.

Tonight I attempted to pick up a cookie sheet of falafel barehanded. It wasn’t really ‘picking up’ so much as ‘lifting the corner to move it out of the way.’ Unfortunately the pan was still about 375 degrees. I don’t recommend trying this at home and suspect the thumb, index, and middle finger on my left hand are all going to blister nicely.

Flipping Out took a turn for the dramatic tonight! I mean, I knew there would be nanny-cam fallout but WHOA. What’s consistently funny to me is that Jeff is clearly just screwing with the people he knows, but he’s so deadpan (and so crazy much of the time) that I don’t think they can see it. It’s hilarious.

Tonight I also put together a couple of class cd mixes. A 65 minute Hip Hop blend (pretty close to the one I posted on imeem.com) and a 63 minute 70s Soul Mix. Hip Hop is challenging because it can be work finding songs that are entirely free of potentially offensive language. It’s not just profanity, but derogatory lyrics about women, use of the N word, or generally non-positive lyrics. You don’t realize how prevalent it is until you start wading through the songs you may not listen to so carefully. When you practice, you’re digging the beat and doing your own thing.

Classes are different. The last thing you want is for students to be in a nice strong Warrior II pose and have something like “99 Problems but a Bitch Ain’t One” to crank on up.

P.S. There are NO YOGA-SAFE Wu Tang songs. FYI.

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Hip Hop Yoga Playlist

Link to imeem.com

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